Sign-In
Cart
Mastering the Art of Being Broken, a Lyric Memoir in Poems and Prose
Paperback
Biographies GeneralDeath & DyingSelf-Help
Publisher: Ecsi Publishing
Published: Jun 1 2026
Pages: 142
Weight: 0.44
Height: 0.33 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
What does it mean to survive what was never meant to be carried?
In Mastering the Art of Being Broken, therapist and poet Lee Erickson explores grief, family, shame, identity, loss, and the complicated work of healing. Drawing from personal experience-including the suicide of a brother, the challenges of growing up gay in a small Midwestern town, and a lifetime of navigating family trauma-these poems and prose reflections examine the wounds we inherit, the stories we tell ourselves, and the resilience required to keep moving forward.
Blending the intimacy of memoir with the emotional power of poetry, Mastering the Art of Being Broken is a lyric memoir that traces one man's journey through loss, estrangement, self-discovery, and renewal. Through vivid storytelling and emotional honesty, Erickson explores the ways grief reshapes us, how shame takes root in families and communities, and how healing often emerges not through perfection, but through compassion, connection, and acceptance.
The collection moves from childhood experiences of invisibility and misunderstanding, through family conflict and personal loss, into the aftermath of suicide, grief, and the difficult process of rebuilding a meaningful life. Along the way, readers encounter stories of survival, forgiveness, therapy, friendship, resilience, and the transformative power of writing.
By turns heartbreaking, reflective, and hopeful, these poems and essays speak to anyone who has experienced loss, questioned their worth, struggled to belong, or searched for meaning in difficult circumstances. Erickson offers no easy answers, but instead invites readers to sit with life's complexities and discover that brokenness is not the opposite of wholeness-it is often part of being fully human.
For readers of contemporary poetry, memoir, grief literature, LGBTQ literature, and books about healing and personal growth, Mastering the Art of Being Broken offers a moving meditation on survival, love, family, and the courage to remain open-hearted in a wounded world.
A powerful debut lyric memoir about grief, resilience, identity, healing, and the enduring hope that can emerge from even life's deepest fractures.
Also in
Death & Dying
On Death and Dying: What the Dying Have to Teach Doctors, Nursers, Clergy, and Their Own Families
Kbler-Ross, Elisabeth
Kubler-Ross, Elisabeth
Paperback
Before All Is Said and Done: Practical Advice on Living and Dying Well
Watson, Suzanne
Miles, Pat
Hardcover
Healing from Great Loss: Facing Pain and Grief to Recover Your Authentic Self
Clark, Ann J.
Paperback
When God Doesn't Fix It: Lessons You Never Wanted to Learn, Truths You Can't Live Without
Story, Laura
Paperback
The Orphaned Adult: Understanding and Coping with Grief and Change After the Death of Our Parents
Levy, Alexander
Paperback
All My Dead Cats and Other Losses: Practicing Good Grief in a Culture That Fears Mourning
Smith, S. E.
Paperback
The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter
Magnusson, Margareta
Hardcover
It's Ok That You're Not Ok: Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture That Doesn't Understand
Devine, Megan
Paperback
The Grief Recovery Handbook, 20th Anniversary Expanded Edition: The Action Program for Moving Beyond Death, Divorce, and Other Losses
Friedman, Russell
James, John W.
Paperback
Nobody Wants Your Sh*t: The Art of Decluttering Before You Die (New York Times Bestseller)
Condo, Messie
Hardcover
How Will I Ever Get Through This?: Evidence-Based Tools to Help You Heal from Hardship, Grief, and Loss
Hone, Lucy
Paperback
When the Ache Remains: Lessons on Tending to the Unfixable and Finding Beauty Anyway
Olivera, Lisa
Hardcover
In the Absence of the Ordinary: Soul Work for Times of Uncertainty--Essays on Grief, Change, and Sacred Transitions
Weller, Francis
Paperback
My Parents Are Dead: What Now?: A Panic-Free Guide to the Practicalities of Death
Robison, Becky
Paperback
Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief Workbook: Tools for Releasing Pain and Remembering with Love
Kessler, David
Paperback
Through a Season of Grief: 365 Devotions for Your Journey from Mourning to Joy
Dunn, Bill
Leonard, Kathy
Paperback
The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss
O'Connor, Mary-Frances
Paperback
Tiny Beautiful Things (10th Anniversary Edition): Reese's Book Club: Advice from Dear Sugar
Strayed, Cheryl
Paperback
The Greatest Love: Lessons for Living with Extraordinary Courage--Even After the Worst Day of Your Life
Brown, Tim
Hardcover
Twilight of Camelot: The Short Life and Long Legacy of Patrick Bouvier Kennedy
Levingston, Steven
Hardcover
The Aubreigh Wyatt Story: A mother's fight for justice, love, and lasting change
Wyatt, Heather
Paperback
From Here to the Great Unknown: Oprah's Book Club: A Memoir
Presley, Lisa Marie
Keough, Riley
Paperback
Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma: The Innate Capacity to Transform Overwhelming Experiences
Levine, Peter A.
Paperback
Liliana's Invincible Summer (Pulitzer Prize Winner): A Sister's Search for Justice
Rivera Garza, Cristina
Paperback
Welcome to the Afterlife: A No-Nonsense Tour for Those in Mourning or the Merely Curious with Denise, Heaven's Receptionist
Smith, Taryn Delanie
Hardcover
Never Can Say Goodbye: The Life of a Death Doula and the Art of a Peaceful End
Walker, Darnell Lamont
Paperback
The Other Side of the Straitjacket: A Daughter's Story of Mental Illness and Assisted Dying
Duncan, Alicia
Paperback
On Death & Dying: What the Dying Have to Teach Doctors, Nurses, Clergy & Their Own Families
Kübler-Ross, Elisabeth
Paperback
The VSED Handbook: A Practical Guide to Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking
Christie, Kate
Paperback
The Secret Life of a Cemetery: The Wild Nature and Enchanting Lore of Père-Lachaise
Gallot, Benoît
Paperback
Understanding Your Grief: Ten Essential Touchstones for Finding Hope and Healing Your Heart
Wolfelt, Alan
Paperback
Reimagining Grief: A New Path to Finding Healing, Strength, and Joy After Loss
Doerge, Kate
Bliss, Sara
Hardcover
Graceful Warrior: The True Story of a Son, a Father, and a Family Who Carried Each Other Through
Sinise, Gary
Hardcover
The Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us about Living Fully
Ostaseski, Frank
Paperback
Las Bendiciones del Quebrantamiento: Por Qué Dios Permite Que Atravesemos Tiempos Difíciles
Stanley, Charles F.
Paperback
Navigating Grief Workbook: Evidence-Based Exercises to Move Through Grief and Heal
Darbonne, Anna, PsyD
Paperback
Briefly Perfectly Human: Making an Authentic Life by Getting Real about the End /]Calua Arthur
Arthur, Alua
Paperback
Now Departing: A Small-Town Mortician on Death, Life, and the Moments in Between
Sweeney, Victor M.
Hardcover
The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying: The Spiritual Classic & International Bestseller: 30th Anniversary Edition
Rinpoche, Sogyal
Paperback
All the Living and the Dead: From Embalmers to Executioners, an Exploration of the People Who Have Made Death Their Life's Work
Campbell, Hayley
Paperback
The Understanding Your Grief Journal: Exploring the Ten Essential Touchstones
Wolfelt, Alan
Paperback
No Ordinary Bird: Drug Smuggling, a Plane Crash, and a Daughter's Quest for the Truth
Henderson, Artis
Hardcover
On Grief & Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss
Kübler-Ross, Elisabeth
Kessler, David
Paperback
Dark Archives: A Librarian's Investigation Into the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin
Rosenbloom, Megan
Paperback
Now That She's Gone: A Daughter's Reflections on Loss, Love, and a Mother's Legacy
Ohlemiller, Chelsea
Paperback
Water Bugs and Dragonflies: Explaining Death to Young Children (Gift Edition)
Stickney, Doris
Hardcover
Final Gifts: Understanding the Special Awareness, Needs, and Communications of the Dying
Callanan, Maggie
Kelley, Patricia
Paperback
Final Exit (Third Edition): The Practicalities of Self-Deliverance and Assisted Suicide for the Dying
Humphry, Derek
Paperback
The Wound Makes the Medicine: Elemental Remediations for Transforming Heartache
Lighthorse, Pixie
Paperback
The Good Death: A Guide for Supporting Your Loved One Through the End of Life
O'Brien, Suzanne B.
Hardcover
Comfort for the Grieving Spouse's Heart: Hope and Healing After Losing Your Partner
Roe, Gary Gary
Paperback
The Girl on the Bathroom Floor: Held Together When Everything Is Falling Apart
Smith, Amber Emily
Hardcover
Death Does Not Exist: What Science and Spirituality Can Teach Us about the Afterlife
Allix, Stéphane
Hardcover
In My Time of Dying: How I Came Face to Face with the Idea of an Afterlife
Junger, Sebastian
Hardcover
The Grieving Body: How the Stress of Loss Can Be an Opportunity for Healing
O'Connor, Mary-Frances
Hardcover
What Made Maddy Run: The Secret Struggles and Tragic Death of an All-American Teen
Fagan, Kate
Paperback
La Niña a la Que Se Le Vino El Mundo Encima / The Girl Whose World Came Crashing Down
Pérez Islas, Gaby
Paperback
Do More: How to Fully Love and Celebrate Your Special People While They Are Still Here
Capurro, Brad
Hardcover
Celebration of Life - Family & Friends Keepsake Guest Book to Sign In with Memories & Comments: Family & Friends Keepsake Guest Book to Sign In with M
Funeral Guest Books, Briar Rose
Hardcover
This Is Body Grief: Making Peace with the Loss That Comes with Living in a Body
Mattingly, Jayne
Hardcover
52-Week Devotional Journal for Grief: Prompts and Prayers for Navigating Loss
Bronstad, Debbra Sell, Lmft
Paperback
Of Course I'm Here Right Now: Three Actually Helpful Things to Say to Someone Grieving
Forsythia, Shelby
Hardcover
Resilient Grieving, Second Edition: How to Find Your Way Through Devastating Loss
Hone, Lucy
Paperback
Growing Through Grief: A Compassionate Guide to Finding Meaning and Purpose After Life-Altering Loss
Mammadyarov, Alex
Paperback